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The Forgotten Center: Traditional Jewishness in Israel

The authors challenge the media's image of Israel as two Jewish societies divided between the secular and the religious. Instead, the authors argue that there are three major orientations and three major publics that can be discerned within Israeli society. Moreover, the authors argue that the "two camp" theory actually overlooks the largest faction of Israeli society: the traditionalists (masortiim), who observe religious rites without concern over their theological import or the halakhic consistency of their actions and yet, for whom Jewishness is central to their identity.